Showtime is also becoming cord cutter friendly

Not to be outdone by their longtime rival pay TV channel HBO, Showtime plans to offer a similar stand-alone streaming service sometime in 2015. So says Les Moonves, the head of CBS (Showtime’s corporate owner). While there’s no definite date announced (just “in the not too distant future”), it should be similarly priced to HBO’s HBO Now service.

CBS already is offering CBS’ shows via CBS All Access, a subscription streaming service for $6/month. Never mind one can get the network over the air for free, of course, or other reasons it sounds like an ill-conceived idea. Motley Fool lays out some reasons why, though I like their suggestion to make it a free ad-backed service, and just charge for ad-free version.

As for the stand-alone Showtime, it’s nice news to hear, even if none of its shows are as rabidly popular as HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”